Cynder's Last Battle
by kivulinduli
Summary: The battle at Convexity, from Cynder's point of view. Follows the events of the game. One-shot.


Legal Disclaimer. I don't own the characters Spyro, or Cynder. They are property of their respective creators. I am simply using them. I gain no profit from this work, and am simply writing this for my own enjoyment, and the enjoyment of fans of the game.

This story was written just a few hours, as a one shot, following a dream I had. It looks at the events from the end of the first Legend of Spyro game, An New Beginning. This is simply an account of the last battle between Spyro and Cynder, from Cynder's point of view. This is a one shot, and probably will not have any sequels. Although, maybe, it will... Enjoy!

Cynder's Last Battle

Cynder sighed as she landed at convexity. At last, it was over. She had the last crystal. Soon she would be reunited with her master. As she climbed the steps to the portal, and placed the last crystal into the dark stream, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "My master returns!".

"We're too late!"

She turned as she heard the voice behind her to see that pesky little purple dragon, and the little bug that always accompanied him. She eyed them for a moment.

_So determined. He would make a good accomplice for the dark master. Too bad he is not here in person to deal with him. Oh well, I guess I will have to deal with him myself. _

"Hmph. Persistent little fella, aren't you? This is where it really ends!"

The little dragon did nothing more than drop into a fighting stance.

"Bring it!"

Cynder grinned, rearing up to her full height, then spreading her wings, dropping into a modified fighting stance, considering her opponents size.

"No mercy this time!"

For a moment, the little dragon just stared at her. Then he started circling her. Cynder simply kept moving around to face him. She was curious as to how this little dragon intended to fight her. Her answer came a moment later, when he turned, and charged straight for her. Cynder just stood there. The little dragon's charge ended with a short series of claw and tail strikes directed at Cynder's face. Cynder was slightly surprised, as despite his size, his claws were able to pierce her. More irritated than hurt, she sent him flying with a blow from her wing.

As he began to circle her again, Cynder couldn't help but be slightly impressed by the little dragon. He had the soul of a warrior. Still, while this was an interesting development, she still saw only one outcome to this conflict.

_Bravery alone will not save you, little one._

Her thoughts were snapped back to reality as he charged her again. Waiting until he was almost within striking distance, she turned, and let loose with her tail. This caught him off guard, and sent him sprawling again.

_I think he expected me to be slower than this._

Still, he was back on his feet, and still seemed to be none the worse for wear. This slightly annoyed Cynder.

_Alright little one, you've had your fun. Now it's time to end this!_

She moved toward him quickly, planning to pin him to the ground with her tail. However, she struck... nothing. Somehow, he had evader her. She whirled, and lept at him, swiping with her claws. Again, she hit nothing. She whirled, looking for her opponent. She didn't see him. Suddenly, she felt a pain in her back. She realized that he had managed to jump onto her back, and was tearing into her. With a roar, she brought her tail down, being careful to angle her tail, so as to not cut herself. She connected, again sending him skidding off of her. Before he had a chance to recover, she had crossed the distance between them, and had attacked with her claws. She wanted him to feel pain!

Still, he managed to get up! She could see that she had inflicted several wounds, but he seemed to shrug them off. She hissed. If this were taking place anywhere else, at any other time. She would have so many options available to her. But here, she knew that she had to prevent him from reaching that portal. It was too important. Shaking her head, she let loose with a stream of dark fire. He managed to get out of the way, mostly. She could tell that she had singed him. Taking advantage of his hesitation she charged him again. He didn't move. She grinned.

_I have you now! _

Sweeping with her tail, Cynder was surprised to again hit... nothing. This was almost immediately followed by the sensation of pain in her back. Roaring, she again swept him from her back. By now she was furious.

_How dare he!_

Changing tactics, she took the offensive, trying to keep him moving, hoping to sap him of his strength. She hounded him relentlessly, chasing him around, minimizing his ability to counter attack. He was able to get a few of his own in, but mostly he found himself running jumping or otherwise dodging her attacks. She smiled to herself. He would soon tire. All he had to do was make one false move, and...

There! He had dodged out of the way of her wing strikes, leaving himself vulnerable to a sweep from her tail. Again, he was sent flying. He hit the ground hard, and didn't rise. Cynder approached cautiously. Given what she had seen of this little dragon, she didn't doubt that he had some tricks hidden away.

Her thoughts were confirmed a moment later, as he rose, and suddenly shot a stream of rocks at her. This caught her off guard.

_I hate it when I'm right sometimes!_

She backed away quickly, suddenly puzzled. Earth? He was purple. He shouldn't have any powers over the elements.

_How was it possible?_

Her thoughts were interrupted as a bolt of lighting shot past her, followed by a storm of ice shards.

_This can't be! How could he have possibly gained..._

Then, it dawned on her. The guardians. They had trained him. They had imparted him with their wisdom. It was the only way... She cursed. This was going to make things a lot more difficult. She was not properly rested, and could not use as much of her elemental powers as she would have liked, especially given this new development.

Again he came after her, this time sending rock, ice, electricity and fire at her on the way, then opened up into a combo on her back. She roared in pain and frustration. This was not how it was supposed to be! Attempting to focus, she threw everything she had at the little purple menace before her. Still, he fired right back at her. And slowly, a new sensation crept into her brain.

_**Fear.**_

She realized, that she might not win this fight. She realized that she had underestimated her opponent from the beginning. He had been holding back, waiting, learning all of her moves, while keeping his most powerful hidden away until an opportunity presented itself. And now she was paying the price. In the span of two minutes, he had drained her of almost all her strength. Everything ached, and many wounds bled freely all over her body.

Still, she had one more trick. Gathering her strength, she let her rage and anger meld with the darkness within her. This manifested as a towering pillar of lava that lifted her to the skies, then exploded, knocking the little dragon away. She then began to rain fireballs down upon him. She screamed, letting her anger rage with each fireball she released. Still, she could see him down below her standing defiantly even now. Suddenly, she realized that something was _wrong. _Looking closely, she could see something was happening to the little dragon. An aura had appeared around him, and she could feel the energy flowing from him. She almost fell out of the sky as she realized that the aura surrounding him, was the same aura that flowed from convexity itself.

However, this was all the revelations she had time for, as a purple beam blasted out of the little dragons mouth, striking her. Words could not describe the pain. She almost blacked out then and there. Her vision went blurry, and everything seemed to stop, save the overwhelming pain that coursed through her entire body. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. Slowly she recovered. Her eyesight grew brighter, and refocused. The pain quickly subsided into a very painful ache. She found that she was still in the air, and alive. She glared down at the little dragon, then angrier than before, began spewing forth more fireballs.

This only lasted for a second though, before she again felt the agonizing pain wash over her body. She screamed, and continued to blindly fire, hoping to hit him, to make the pain stop. It never did. Slowly, she felt her body go numb. Darkness clouded her vision. Her awareness began to drop. Slowly, the pain faded. Eventually, everything went black.

She awoke, and slowly opened her eyes. She knew she was still alive, because the pain had not left her. Blinking several times, the purple dragon swam into view. She closed her eyes again. She had failed. Everything she had worked for, all of this time, was now worth nothing. Her master would not return. His legacy would be destroyed. And she... would she be taken to trial? She didn't imagine the guardians would be merciful. Not after all she had done. Still, all she could do was wait, to see what happened. There was nothing she could do in her current state.

Then, suddenly she heard a voice. A voice that she knew so well, and yet not at all. A voice that she both longed and feared to hear. The voice of her master.

**...Cynder... the battle is not yet finished...**

...Master? How? I have no strength left... I have... failed.

**...You have strength you do not realize... It has not been awakened yet.**

...Master?

**...Yes. I shall awaken that power. You know what needs to be done...**

...Of course, master...

**...Good. Do not fail me...again...**

Cynder suddenly felt pain coursing through her body, a pain not unlike that of the little dragons electricity. However, in it's wake, she felt strength returning to her limbs. The darkness fled from her vision. The pain from her wounds dulled. She could feel her elements again.

_Wind...poison...fear...darkness..._

She rose, rising on her hind legs, letting an earsplitting scream issue from her very core. She dropped, facing the little purple dragon. She felt nothing towards him. Only anger, hate and rage. He was nothing! A hatchling! Yes, he had been granted some powers... but they were nothing compared to what she was about to dish out. She had already survived everything he could throw at her. He had nothing left! Focusing, she began to charge an attack...

Then suddenly she stopped. Her heart seemed to stop, freezing her whole body along with it. Before her, she again saw the aura beginning to surround the little dragon. But this time, it was overwhelming. It rose in power quickly, quickly eclipsing anything she had ever seen before. It was as before, but this time, he seemed to be drawing power from convexity itself! It was as though he was channeling convexity through himself, using it as a weapon, with himself as the method of delivery!

She screamed again, though this time, it was full of fear. She could tell that this was beyond her ability to handle, even in her new state. Panic rising within her, she tried to get airborne, to try to get some distance from _him_, and this unknown power he was now focusing. She had gotten about 15 feet, when he finally released the power. The shock wave that it released seemed to tear apart the world. Surprisingly, it's only effect on her was to freeze her in mid air. Then she saw the purple orb floating in front of her. From this orb, she saw ghastly figures emerge, and suddenly in a rush, attack her.

The pain she felt as those things attacked her, was absolutely the worst pain she had ever felt. It easily eclipsed the pain she had just recently felt from the little dragons last attack. No, this pain was beyond physical pain. This felt as though these things that were attacking her, were pulling away part of her soul, over and over. Again and again, they came, and tore away parts of her. She couldn't really describe what it was that hurt, but it hurt more than anything ever had in her life. And yet, she didn't lose consciousness. She was fully awake the whole time, and could feel every bit of it.

After what seemed like an eternity, the spirits suddenly dissipated. She was left hanging in the air. And suddenly, from her core, she could feel a numbness spreading. This she knew, was the end. She had failed. Yet, there was something peaceful about it. It was all over. She could rest now. Darkness overtook her vision, and she knew no more...

A chapter of Cynder's life ends here, and a new one begins. Freed from darkness by Spyro, she now has a new road to walk.


End file.
